Fate
by PeetasAndHerondales
Summary: After a strange encounter with a gypsy at the fair who gives them an ominous prophecy, Katniss and Peeta suffer in a car accident that will change their lives forever. Originally published on F4LLS in August 2014.


On the night of the accident, Peeta was the one who suggested that he and Katniss spend a day at the fair together. They were celebrating their tenth wedding anniversary, and had they not been tired of their mothers hounding them about not having kids yet (particularly Peeta's mother), they would have invited the rest of the family to come along. But then again, this was _their _day, and they didn't need to share it with anybody else. And for that particular reason, they didn't announce where they were going when they left the restaurant where they had met the entire Mellark-Everdeen clan for a celebration.

"It's not that I don't want kids," Katniss said exasperatedly as Peeta led her through the fair, holding her hand.

"Your mother said that you weren't ready for them…"

"It's not that either!" Katniss cried out, letting go of his hand so that she could cross her arms instead.

"Well then what is it?" Peeta was losing his patience with the subject. They had gone over it thousands of times, and they never got anywhere with it. But it wasn't _him _who harassed her about having kids, it was their family, and he was getting tired of it. He wished they would just shut up about it already and leave them alone. They were happy together, and that's what mattered most.

"I just… I don't know, Peeta. I'm scared, I guess."

"I think it's natural to be a little scared, but I'm sure we'll be able to figure it out together," he assured her as they reached the Ferris wheel and he handed over two tickets.

"No, you don't understand," Katniss insisted as they climbed into one of the baskets and the ride began. "What if I turn out like my mother? I practically raised Prim myself because she was unable to keep it together after our father died. I was eleven years old! I didn't know what I was doing, and yet the whole time I was terrified that something would happen to one of them and I would be unable to do anything about it. I don't want to feel that helplessness again."

"Are you even listening to yourself? You just proved to me that you're nothing like your mother. And you only felt helpless because of what happened to your father, but _no one _could have predicted that, do you understand? Traffic accidents happen all the time. You couldn't have done anything about that, Katniss. But you know what? You did an exceptional job raising Prim. I mean, she even went to Harvard Medical School and now she's a successful doctor. And now that she's pregnant with her first child, do you know what she told me?"

"What?"

"She says she hopes that she's able to raise her child the same way you raised her. I don't know why she told me that, but she did. I suppose it's because you still don't know the effect you can have, Katniss. You're the most nurturing, caring, and loving woman I've ever met. You would be the _best _mother."

Peeta's blue eyes bore into her intensely as he said this, and Katniss sighed and bit her lip as she took in her surroundings. They were at the very top of the Ferris wheel now, and she could see a large part of the city from here. The city lights shined brightly in the dark, cool night, and it was then that she remembered another night like this, the night of their first kiss.

"Do you remember how we kissed at the very top of the Ferris wheel when we were sixteen?" she murmured.

"Yes, how could I forget?" He put his arm around her and kissed her forehead lovingly.

"It was my very first kiss, and I remembered thinking that I never wanted to kiss anyone else after that."

He chuckled. "Well, you got your wish. I'm pretty sure my thoughts were pretty much the same. Except that I was also worried you would notice my raging hard-on."

She laughed and slapped his arm playfully. "I _did _notice it, but I was nice enough to ignore it."

"How noble of you," he teased.

"Anyway, that's not what I was getting at. What I was trying to say was that you've always been the one for me, Peeta. And I _do _want to have children with you one day."

He beamed. "Really? Can we get started on it right away? Like, tonight?" he asked eagerly.

Katniss rolled her eyes, and then grinned. "Maybe if you play your cards right…"

"I'll take that as a yes," he said triumphantly. Peeta wiggled in his seat in excitement, causing it to make it move and scare Katniss. "Stop that!" she hissed as he chuckled. "You're such a child, I feel like I have enough to put up with already."

"You love me."

And before she could make another annoyed retort, he leaned down and kissed her, and her anger instantly dissipated. "It's a curse," she teased.

"Speaking of cards, can we go to the fortune teller booth? I know you hate those, but I've always been curious. They just seem like fun. Please?" He pouted.

Katniss scowled at him. "Seriously, Peeta? _Now _you're giving me the puppy-dog look?"

He whimpered and nuzzled his face against her cheek like a dog until she pushed him away, laughing. "Stop it, you're embarrassing me; we're in public!" she blushed. "You know I hate it when you do that."

"I'll stop if you say we can go."

"Fine. But only because I don't want people to think you're half golden retriever. Ugh."

"Would that make you my bitch?" he snorted.

"Shut up or I'm changing my mind."

"Okay, sorry, sorry, I couldn't resist."

A few minutes after they got off the Ferris wheel, they reached the frivolous neon-pink fortune-teller booth with the words _Madame Trinket_ labeled at the top. Katniss wrinkled her nose. "Ugh, even the name of it sounds totally fake."

"Oh, come on, I promise we'll do the archery range next," he said, just as the woman who was sitting behind the booth looked up at them from underneath her long, pink eyelashes. Her outfit was the same color and her hair was a tuft of cotton-candy swirls.

"Hello, would you like me to read your palms, or even interest you in a card reading? It's five tickets." She grinned.

Katniss groaned. "Tarot cards, please," Peeta said eagerly as he took a seat in front of her, handing her the tickets. Katniss took the seat beside him, sighing.

"And what about you?" Madame Trinket asked her.

"No thanks," Katniss said curtly.

The woman pursed her lips and nodded as she shuffled her cards. "I see you're a skeptic. Your husband doesn't seem to be, though," she smiled warmly at Peeta.

Peeta smiled back awkwardly. "I was just curious, actually."

"No matter, it's enough to keep an open mind." She laid the stack of large red cards face down on the table and picked the first one up, revealing the picture as she laid it face up in front of Peeta.

"The Hanged Man," she read.

"That's creepy," Peeta commented.

"No, this is a good thing," Madame Trinket explained. "It means that you are a man of sacrifice and it symbolizes your spiritual rebirth." She placed down another card. "The Wheel of Fortune."

"This is a good thing too, right?" Peeta asked as Katniss rolled her eyes and glanced impatiently at her watch.

"It can be," Madame Trinket said carefully. "Your success will depend on your fortune, some of which will be out of your control."

"Can we get on with this?" Katniss asked.

Madame Trinket frowned at her, but nonetheless put down another card from her deck. "Death," she whispered, looking into Peeta's eyes. "This one should be self-explanatory. Beware, Peeta Mellark."

"I think that's enough," Katniss snapped as she stood up.

"Wait, how did you know my name?" Peeta asked, but Katniss had already dragged him out of the tent before the fortune teller could respond.

"I told you it was a dumb idea!" Katniss hissed at him, his eyes widened in horror.

"I just don't understand how she knew my name…" Peeta insisted, his voice trailing off in contemplation.

"Ugh, you probably told her and you forgot you did. Whatever, it's a bunch of bullshit, anyway. I just don't appreciate anyone giving my husband death threats, I don't care who the hell she thinks she is," Katniss ranted with rage when they walked out of the fair.

"I'm sorry, Katniss. I just thought it would be fun. It was going well until she pulled out that death card. Come on, love, don't be mad at me," he insisted as they reached their car and he pulled her in to give her a kiss.

"I'm not mad at you, I just think it was stupid," Katniss explained after he let go of her. "I don't know what I would do without you. I would be damaged beyond repair, just like my mother was when Papa died." Her voice broke as she fought back the tears. Why was she acting so emotional lately?

"Oh, Katniss, I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. Of course that would upset you. But I promised I would stay with you, remember?" he asked as she nodded. "Always." His deep blue eyes met her gray ones as he reminded her of his promise.

"Let's go home," she whispered as he gave one last lingering kiss before they climbed into the car.

As they drove away, Peeta kept one hand on the steering wheel and the one in his wife's hand. He didn't want to end their anniversary on such a bad note, and he hoped to make it up to her when they arrived home. He was completely immersed in his thoughts as they drove on the bridge over the lake that he almost missed his turn, and he cursed as he turned the steering wheel hard. The car behind them honked right before it crashed behind them. He heard Katniss scream, felt a force hit his head, and then nothing. He had let go of her hand.

It was much later when Katniss finally opened her eyes to the bright fluorescent lights. Her entire body felt sore and bruised, and for one disorienting moment she wasn't sure where she was or why she was there. And then it all came back to her: the fair, the tarot cards, the car accident, and…_Peeta. _"Peeta!" She tried to scream, but her voice was hoarse.

"Katniss, you're awake!" Her sister Prim exclaimed as she came into view. "Oh, thank god…quick, find her some water; I'll call in another doctor!" she said to the person behind her, and a few moments later Prim's husband Rory came into view holding a cup with a straw. Prim took it from him and helped Katniss sit up as she placed it near Katniss's mouth so that she could take a sip. Katniss tried not to choke as she drank in the cold liquid too quickly, but it relieved her parched throat. She finally took a good look at her sister and noticed that Prim was wearing her doctor's robe over her protruding pregnant belly.

"Prim?" Katniss whispered.

"Yes, I'm here, Katniss, you're alright."

"Where's my husband? Where's Peeta? Is he alright too?" Katniss asked desperately as she grabbed her sister's hand.

Prim and Rory glanced at each other uneasily as she asked these questions. "We'll talk about that…right now I need to check that your vitals to make sure that you're stable…" Prim said as she busied herself with her stethoscope.

"No, Prim, I need to know _now. _Is he dead? Oh god, don't just look at me like that, _answer me!"_

"We don't know!" Prim finally choked out. "We can't find him. No one knows where he is. You were rescued from the scene of the accident, but Peeta was nowhere to be found. All they found was a pool of his blood. They presume that he fell into the lake and his body is out there somewhere. I'm sorry, Katniss." Prim had burst into tears now, and another doctor, one Katniss didn't recognize, walked into the room just as Katniss lost control and began thrashing and screaming; Rory and the new doctor restrained her.

"Haymitch, no!" Prim sobbed.

"I have to sedate her, Primrose; it's for her own good," Haymitch replied.

Katniss felt the needle stab her arm, and Peeta's name fell from her lips before she lost consciousness again.

Peeta opened his eyes and gasped for air as he was greeted by the sight of a red-haired man with sea-green eyes leaning only inches away from his face. "Wha-? Who?" Peeta managed to sputter.

"My name's Finnick. I just gave you CPR. You're lucky I was here to pull you out of that lake before you drowned in it. I thought I'd lost you for a second."

"So…I'm not dead?"

Finnick chuckled. "I don't know, you tell me."

Peeta tried to sit up as he recovered, slowly taking in his surroundings and trying to remember what had happened. "I…I have to get home to my wife. It's our ten-year anniversary," he said frantically. They were sitting by the shore and the light of the moon was barely enough for him to make out the bridge in the distance.

"Now, now, settle down. We have to get you to a hospital soon; I think your leg is injured. I'm going to call an ambulance and then we'll try to contact your wife, okay? Was she in the accident as well? Maybe she's already in the hospital."

Peeta simply nodded as he wondered what had happened to Katniss. Finnick was already on the phone, talking rapidly into it. After a few moments, he hung up and handed Peeta the phone so that he could call Katniss. Peeta quickly punched in the numbers and held the phone near his ear, praying and hoping that she wasn't horribly injured in a hospital bed. But her cell phone went straight to voicemail.

_Hey! This is Katniss Mellark. I'm unavailable right now, but please leave a message and I'll call you back soon. Thanks!_

_Beep._

Peeta hung up the phone in frustration and handed it back to Finnick. "Don't worry; the ambulance will be here soon." Finnick said sympathetically.

"I don't want to go to the hospital; I want to know where my wife is," Peeta groaned as he struggled to stand up without success. The searing pain shooting up from his leg nearly blinded him as he collapsed back down on the ground. Peeta cursed.

"Whoa, whoa, hold on there, man. Let's just wait for the ambulance, ok? I think you might have broken that leg."

Peeta managed to nod as he clutched on to his leg, wondering what had hit it. It didn't matter, though. He had to go to the hospital now.

Soon enough they heard an ambulance in the distance, and he sighed in relief as it approached them. But then something strange happened. The ambulance circled around them but never stopped in front of them. At one point it stopped, and a police car stopped beside it as a cop came out with a flashlight, calling out if anybody was out there. Peeta shouted for help as they approached him, and he looked around to see if Finnick could go and get them.

But Finnick was gone.

And even when the cop stood close enough to see and hear Peeta, the officer didn't respond to his call or even acknowledge him. It was as if Peeta wasn't there at all. As if he didn't exist.

Maybe he _was_ dead, after all.

_To be continued…_

_**A/N- **__ So there it is! I hope you like the premise. Thank you so much for reading. Special thanks to the wonderful Court81981 for betaing this for me! I would also like to take the time to appreciate F4LLS for organizing this wonderful fundraiser for the fourth year in a row! I feel honored to be able to participate in it again this year; it's a great cause. _


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